Academic fraud can be reduced by relaxing bureaucratic controls

By Zhi Zhenfeng Source:Global Times Published: 2014-8-28 19:23:01

Li Ning, an academician with the Chinese Academy of Engineering and professor of China Agricultural University, has been put under investigation for alleged embezzlement of research funds.

Zero-tolerance for these kinds of practices must be imposed on academia. Besides rigorous penalties, what really matters is that we have to eliminate the root causes, which as of now, lie in the unfair distribution of research funds and bureaucratic administration.

The major cause is the unfair distribution of research funds that come from the appropriation of government finances. But as for the government, it is unprofessional for it to judge what kinds of scientific research should be funded.

Bureaucratic administration serves as catalyst for the corruption of academia. After their projects have been arranged and the money appropriated, many scholars find themselves trapped in a predicament.

On the one hand, they cannot spend the funds as freely as they want, because the authorities are supervising them as they are "potential lawbreakers."

But on the other hand, they are pushed by their authorities to spend the funds and use them up as fast as possible.

This contradiction breeds a lot of misconduct such as misappropriation, embezzlement and fraud.

In order to resolve these problems, the academic community should be reshaped, so that it is really committed to scientific exploration. And this can only be achieved by loosening administrative control and normalizing the system of peer reviews.

Scholars should nourish some basic values, such as patriotism, abiding by the law and professionalism in scientific research.

As for the government administration, they should be more service-oriented to aid scholars with their research. After the current rules of project application and conclusion are modified, a peer review system should be introduced. This can help can avoid academic monopolies, so that more scholars and research teams will engage in a full competition.

The authorities in charge of project supervision and the allocation of funds should provide more humanitarian and flexible services to scholars, whose achievements must be rewarded and whose rights to use the funds must be guaranteed.

A new supervisory process must be transparent and watched over by a third party.

The entire process of running a project, unless it is related to business and national security secrets, should be open to the public. If the circumstances allow, it is necessary to introduce overseas scholars to do peer review.

What's more, the mechanism to manage scientific projects and the social credit mechanism should be integrated.

The final purpose of the reform should be to build up a whole set of norms within the academic community by the rule of law.

The author is deputy editor-in-chief of the Global Law Review. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn



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